This invention relates in general to valves, and particularly relates to an electric-drive valve configuration which can be retrofitted to an existing manual valve. In one configuration the valve can be manually operated in two different modes. A leak detection system is also provided.
Damage done by water leaks causes millions of dollars of damage to buildings each year. The prior art includes leak detector systems to detect leaks and indicate them locally or remotely. To further enhance such detector systems a remotely operated valve is envisioned.
In a typical residential or small commercial water supply configuration, each building may include a manually operated water shut-off valve located in the incoming water line, hot water tank or other water lines. Although electrically operated valves are available, removing the existing manual shut-off valve and replacing it with a commercially available electrically operated valve incurs considerable inconvenience and expense, and when age of piping is a factor can involve the replacement of more than just the valve. Furthermore, in some instances such electrically operated valves cannot be manually overridden, which is desirable in the event of complete power failure or failure of the valve drive system.
Therefore, there is recognized a need in the art to provide a retrofittable electric valve operating mechanism which can be quickly and easily attached to an existing manual valve configuration while still allowing the manual feature of the valve to be utilized. A need also exists for an electric valve configuration which includes a certain degree of xe2x80x9cslopxe2x80x9d which can accommodate valve handle misalignment.
A need also exists for a valve operating system which can be used with a leak detection system.
The present invention overcomes deficiencies in the art by providing an improved retrofittable electric valve operating mechanism which can be quickly and easily attached to an existing manual valve configuration. The invention also provides an improved leak detection system.
Therefore it is an object of the present invention to provide an improved electric valve configuration.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide an improved electric valve configuration which includes a xe2x80x9cuniversal jointxe2x80x9d feature which accommodates some misalignment between the axis of rotation of the valve handle and the axis of rotation of the driving motor.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide an improved electric valve configuration which can be retrofitted to an existing manual valve.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide an improved electric valve configuration which can be retrofitted to an existing manual valve without disabling the manual valve""s operation.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide an improved electric valve configuration which can be retrofitted to an existing manual valve without disassembling the manual valve.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide an improved electric valve configuration which can be retrofitted to an existing manual valve without the need for special tools.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide an improved electric valve configuration which can be retrofitted to an existing manual valve without special installation techniques.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide an improved electric valve configuration which can accommodate misalignment with the valve handle.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide an improved leak detection system.
Other objects, features, and advantages of the present invention will become apparent upon reading the following detailed description of the preferred embodiment of the invention when taken in conjunction with the drawing and the appended claims.